Friday, November 25, 2011

I now have Apple TV. Yesterday left completely bored by nothing on TV and lethargy (I didn't want to go to the video store), I decided to watch You Tube. Here is what I love about You Tube, you can watch all of the interviews you missed or downloads from festivals and conferences. My favorite show du jour is True Blood so I decided to watch the cast interviews from HBO and Paleyfest from last summer. Caught some great behind-the-scenes comments about Season 4 (sort of my favorite season, but it really waned in writing quality toward the last three shows ... which is why I favor Season 3 for overall consistency). I started laughing when the cast cited some of their favorite lines, which included "Ring, ring hooker" (turns out that one was an ad-lib) and Kristin Bauer van Straten, whose quip, "Pretty much anything Pam says," made me smile and nod. Pam had the great line of the season, "Sookie and her precious fairy vagina." I completely loved that line at the time it raged out of poor, dejected Pam's mouth. And then just to confirm what I already picked up, my favorite contemporary actor Alexander Skarsgård was offered and graciously accepted a thank you letter from a fan, and he sweetly gave her a kiss on the cheek (aaaahhhh), proving what I suspect that he's the real deal. Speaking of Skarsgård, I also found some completely hilarious clips from a little-known movie called Beyond the Pole, which only confirms his comedic chops. Okay, Alex I want you in my comedy Beauty School (hint, hint). You would make a deliciously funny Bo, the weird, little sidekick who's so stupid he wears a robe to the first day of beauty college. When Chaz says the robe resembles his "mother's bath mat" (after Bo falsely believes it's cool like "Hef's"), Bo is left to respond, "Hey it's micro-fibers." And that is my favorite line from my own script.

Of course, this segues to why I called this blog "completely idle thoughts," because idle hands and boredom led to me to click on a stupid video beneath the interviews of Alexander Skarsgård as he was out on the town. As I glanced at it and then clicked it off in disgust, I realized I would not want to be that famous. While it's clear that Skarsgård shows complete respect and regard for his fans and will sign autographs, the paparazzi hound him like crazy. While he ignores them, this gets him labeled like something is wrong with him. I know this sort of thing comes with fame, but seriously that's just ugly. And that video was completely uninteresting and boring; hence it got clicked off. It also got clicked off because I found it offensive. You Tube, unfortunately, while great for allowing us to watch rare missed interviews and hard-to-find material, it does give the paparazzi a place to load their useless trash and create an audience. I do not ever advocate censorship, but seriously don't watch that stuff, and they won't have a demand for it. It's just wasted time and very intrusive. It's one thing to go out and deliberately meet fans, sign books (in my case), and shake hands; but it's another to have someone filming your off time for no good reason. I know I'm swimming upstream here, but really if that were you just trying to go out wouldn't you want to be left to it and not hounded?

Now for my comments on Black Friday. We were (as evidenced) laying around yesterday, and Black Friday became a discussion point. It seems some people had camped for days in front of Best Buy where the steal-of-a-deal for Black Friday was a $300 flat screen television. Here is what I don't get. While the price was a good deal, was it really worth the lost productivity of camping in a parking lot for three days prior? Is that how people spend their vacation time? "Hey Fred! Let's go camping ... at the Best Buy parking lot." Wow! Sounds like some great escape. "Sure Maude, we'll get us a plasma for $300!" It's all good. I make $15 an hour and the lost work time ... let's do the math shall we? That TV is worth $600 full price. "Hey Fred! You just made up the difference! Good for you!" Americans ... can you see me shake my head? On the other hand, I am warmly ensconced in my cozy home pondering a movie later on. No camping in pavement, materialistic city for me!

Want a Black Friday gift ... for FREE? The first five people who send me an email with their shipping address will get their own FREE copy of my new book California Girl Chronicles. It's a great Christmas gift -- and, "Look Ma! No camping!" Send your email to info@3LPublishing.com.

We all have our favorite characters we love to root for whether in fiction or on TV or film. So, I thought I would share my short list of my...

Body in the Trunk

A New Novel by Michelle Gamble

Newsletter - First Word - Sign Up

First Word newsletter comes out every Sunday morning and provides insight into publishing, books, marketing, public relations, and the entertainment industry. Click on the sign-up button or just go to www.3LPublishing.com.

Subscribe To

About Me

I am a publisher, author, produced screenwriter and outspoken funny girl. You never know what I'm going to say on this blog. Could be straightforward and serious, or it could be cheeky and funny -- it all depends on what's on my mind. If something sounds "off," it's more likely said tongue-in-cheek than serious.
I like nothing better than to crack up, and when I'm working to crack myself up! Life's too short to take it seriously. Authors who work with me always have a good time. You will never find anything conservative or boring around here! Visit my website at www.3LPublishing.com.
I am publishing a new book very soon titled Body in the Trunk. Look for a winter 2014 release.